Rom Coms

I was having a serious craving for a good ol' romantic comedy this week. A lot of films in this genre get slapped with the "Chick Flick" title, a term which I personally detest. Anyhow, it got me wondering why we crave them. What is it about these films that make us feel better when we're sad? They are usually fraught with heartbreak, often tragedy. Why do we crave these emotions when we are already experiencing turmoil ourselves?

When I am having those days, where I am uncontrollably teary, I think maybe I just need a setting where it’s ok to cry. If you’re just sitting home alone on the couch weeping, people are struck with a high note of concern. If you have a Rom Com on, then people might smile endearingly, giggle at you a little, and let you continue on seeping liquid salt. It gives you a veil to hide behind.

It also gives you someone to relate to. Fictional or not, you feel like someone else is also having a hard time and it’s ok that you are both crying. C’mon, we can be friends, you say to the cast, let’s get some chocolate or wine or whatever you need and we’ll just cry this thing out. Don’t worry, you’ll be alright. You’ll get back the guy you lost in 10 days, your unexpectedly sweet punk boyfriend will buy you a guitar, and the guy who has been driving you crazy will fall in love with you and you’ll both be surprised to see it happen. Real stuff, right?

Whatever I am dealing with on a day like this, Rom Coms bring me solace. Even the ones I have watched over and over, probably especially the ones I watch over and over. I know what to expect, I know what emotions I will experience.  I find it comforting knowing that someone else is responsible for taking me through my emotional paces for the next hour and a half. I don't have to think, I don't have to process anything, I just get to feel. Even when they're predictable, you let yourself feel surprised when everything works out. When the conflicts are resolved and the credits roll, I feel better. Whatever was plaguing me is still there, but the melody of whatever upbeat song that is the end of the soundtrack plays away a little bit of the stress that had me reaching for the remote in the first place. 

These films don't often end up on nomination lists, but I think they play an important role in the entertainment spectrum. They give us something silly and human to relate to, and let us escape into the psyches of characters who offer up a template for us to resolve similar problems and play at how we could make them better. Or at least be grateful that whatever has us down is not as hard as whatever has befallen these on-screen lovers. Call me sappy, but I hope Hollywood never tires of these adorable tear-jerkers. I will always need new characters to empathize with. My tear ducts show no signs of slowing down.

What are your all time favourites? The obscure ones, the off-beat gems. I want to know!